Boundary marker



Oct. 18, 1966 J. F. DE KORTE BOUNDARY MARKER Filed Aug. 18, 1964 INVENTOR JOHN E DEKOETE FITTO/ENEY United States Patent 3,279,133 BOUNDARY MARKER John F. De Korte, Wanaque, NJ. (School Pond Road, Wantage Township, NJ. 07461) Filed Aug. 18, 1964, Ser. No. 390,426 9 Claims. (Cl. 52-103) The invention relates to boundary markers for driveways, lawns, golf greens and similar areas and in particular to those boundary markers which return to the vertical time for a boundary marker which is relatively inexpensive, has a long installation life and returns to the vertical position after it has been struck.

Accordingly, it is an important object of the invention to provide a boundary marker which is easy to install and which returns to the vertical position after it has been struck.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a boundary marker with means for attaching a pair of plumb bobs to facilitate the vertical alignment of the boundary marker when it is originally installed in the ground.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a boundary marker which is readily seen at night.

These and other objects, advantages, features and uses will be apparent during the course of the following discussion when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded elevational view of a we ferred embodiment of boundary marker of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the boundary marker of FIGURE 1 installed in the ground;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view along the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 2, viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 4 is a view in the direction of the arrows 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view, taken along the lines 55 of FIGURE 4, viewed in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view, taken along the lines 6-56 of FIGURE 4, viewed in the direction of the arrows; an

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a preferred form of the top cap of the invention, showing the openings for receiving the plumb bob strings.

In the drawings, wherein, for the purpose of illustration, is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein like numerals are used to designate like parts throughout the same, the numeral 10 designates the boundary marker of the invention, generally.

Boundary marker 10 is seen to comprise hollow socket 12 which is installed in the ground and receives stud 14, spring 16 which is threaded onto stud 14, and marker 18 which has an open upper end and which is threaded into spring 16.

Socket 12 is tapered as shown at 23 and is provided with outwardly projecting fins 22 which serve to aid in the positioning of the socket in the ground. Plug 24 is provided to close the opening in socket 12 to prevent dirt or other foreign matter from entering the opening. For ease and economy in fabrication, stud 14 is made hollow and plug 25 is employed to close the lower end of the opening. Stud 14 is provided with protuberances 26,

the purpose and function of which will be described further on in this specification. Flange 28 is provided near the top of stud 14 to prevent the stud from being pushed too far into the socket.

Stud 14 is threaded above flange 28 as shown at 30. Spring 16 is threaded onto threads 30 to secure the spring to the stud. Marker rod 18 is threaded at 32 and the spring is also threaded onto them. Plug 20 encloses the top of marker rod 18 to prevent the entry of dirt, water or other foreign matter into the interior of the rod.

To simplify the positioning of stud 14 in socket 12, stud 14 is provided with protuberances 26 which are adapted to fit into groove 34 in the inner wall of socket 12 (FIGURE 6). Installation of stud 14 into socket 12 is facilitated by grooves 36 (FIGURES 4 and 5) which are spaced to permit protuberances 26 to mate therewith so that stud 14 may be slid into socket 12 until protuberances 26 rest in groove 34. Flange 28 serves to prevent stud 14 from being pushed too far into socket 12.

Installation of boundary markers of the invention may be accomplished in many ways. It ispreferred that the combination be completely assembled and the concrete or cement into which the unit is to be installed be poured. While the cement is still liquid (commonly referred to as mud), the top plug 20 is inserted at the top of marker rod 18. A plumb bob string is run into each opening 38 in the outwardly projecting ears 40 and the combination is aligned in proper vertical attitude. The concrete or cement now sets so that the unit is correctly placed and aligned. Top plug 20 may also be fabricated without ears 40 and openings 38 for use in markers which need not be aligned by the method described above.

Installation may also be made by inserting the socket in the ground first and then assembling the boundary marker after the socket is installed in the ground. If a boundary marker of the invention is broken, the stud may be removed from the socket and a new upper assembly of stud, spring and marker rod installed. The same technique may also be used to replace broken marker rods or weakened springs. To reduce the losses from pilferage and other mischief, stud 14 may be cemented with a plastic adhesive or similar material to socket 12 and spring 16 may be similarly cemented to threads 30 and. 32. Marker rod 18 is preferably formed of or coated with a luminescent material to make the boundary marker visible at night.

In operation, if the boundary marker is hit by a vehicle or other object, the spring gives and the unit takes a position similar to that shown in the dotted lines of FIGURE 2. After the force on it is removed, it returns, due to the resilience of the spring, to the vertical position of FIG- URE 2.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A boundary marker for insertion in the ground for indicating the limits of designated areas on the ground and adapted to return to its upright position after being struck comprising:

a socket having a central opening therein inserted in the ground;

a stud sized to fit in the central opening of the socket and having a flange thereon adjacent the top thereof to inhibit the further entry of the stud into the socket;

the stud being threaded for at least a portion of its length above the flange;

a spring threaded onto the threaded portion of the stud;

a marker rod having an open upper end and a threaded portion at the lower end thereof threaded in the reverse direction from the threaded portion of the stud threaded into the spring.

2. A boundary I'narke'r as described in claim 1 wherein the stud is provided with a pair of protuberances, the wall of the central opening in the socket is provided with a groove formed to receive the protuberances to lock the stud in the'socket and the wall of the central opening is tapered toward the groove at positions matching the positions of the protuberances on the stud to permit the stud to be easily inserted into and removed from the socket.

3. A boundary marker as described in claim 2 wherein the socket is provided with a pair of oppositely placed, outwardly projecting fins for a portion of its length to stabilize the positioning of the socket in the ground.

4. A boundary marker as described in claim 2 including a plug for insertion at the top of the marker rod, the plug comprising a pair of oppositely placed, outwardly projecting ears each of which has an opening therein to receive a plumb bob for vertically aligning the boundary marker.

5. A boundary marker as described in claim 4 wherein the socket is provided with a pair of oppositely placed, out wardly projecting fins for a portion of its length to stabilize the positioning of the socket in the ground.

6. A boundary marker as described in claim 1 including a plug for insertion at the top of the marker rod, the plug comprising a pair of oppositely placed, outwardly projecting ears each of which has an opening therein to receive a plumb bob for vertically aligning the boundary marker.

7. A boundary marker as described in claim 6 wherein the socket is provided with a pair of oppositely placed, outwardly projecting fins for a portion of its length to stabilize the positioning of the socket in the ground.

8. A boundary marker as described in claim 1 wherein the socket is provided with a pair of oppositively placed,

outwardly projecting fins for a portion of its length to stabilize the positioning of the socket in the ground.

9. A boundary marker as described in claim 1 wherein the marker rod is formed of luminescent material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,267,021 5/1918 Watts 941.5 X 1,726,817 9/1929 Franklin 941.5 X 2,292,785 8/1942 Henne 941.5 X 2,949,324 8/1960 Birge et al. 287-86 FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

R. S. VERMUT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BOUNDARY MARKER FOR INSERTION IN THE GROUND FOR INDICATING THE LIMITS OF DESIGNATED AREAS ON THE GROUND AND ADAPTED TO RETURN TO ITS UPRIGHT POSITION AFTER BEING STRUCK COMPRISING: A SOCKET HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING THEREIN INSERTED IN THE GROUND; A STUD SIZED TO FIT IN THE CENTRAL OPENING OF THE SOCKET AND HAVING A FLANGE THEREON ADJACENT THE TOP THEREOF TO INHIBIT THE FURTHER ENTRY OF THE STUD INTO THE SOCKET; THE STUD BEING THREADED FOR AT LEAST A PORTION OF ITS LENGTH ABOVE THE FLANGE; A SPRING THREADED ONTO THE THREADED PORTION OF THE STUD; A MARKER ROD HAVING AN OPEN END AND A THREADED PORTION AT THE LOWER END THEREOF THREADED SIN THE REVERSE DIRECTION FROM THE THREADED PORTION OF THE STUD THREADED INTO THE SPRING. 